In the Library
by SlashAddict
Summary: Zell/Nida implied shonen-ai. A companion fic/missing scene to The Lady Griever's "Brumalis Angelus," chapter 22. What really went on in the library on that...erm, fateful night? (R+R and I'll give you a cookie! ^_^)


Disclaimer: I don't own the Final Fnatasy series. I kinda wish I was making cash of this fic, but I'm not, so don't sue me. ^_^  
  
Author's note: This fic is an accompaniment to The Lady Griever's "Brumalis Angelus." You can read this as a stand-alone piece if you ignore parts that sound funky. There are spoilers for "Brumalis" in this fic. Other than that, Enjoy!  
  
~~~  
  
Zell wandered the empty halls of Garden. Silence, except for his footsteps. At one in the morning, there were few other students around to get in his way.  
  
Punch, punch, grab. Kick, punch, kick. The flowered fern in the corner of the library wouldn't be bothering anyone else any time soon. He'd made sure of that.  
  
A huge bookcase loomed in front of him. Scholarly titles glared from the shelves, lightly coated in dust. A History of Balamb, Atlas of Trabia, Reflections on the Book of Hyne. A wide gap yawned from the row of encyclopedias below him. "Wonder who's reading Sa-Tu?" he thought.  
  
Strolling through the rows of bookcases, Zell looked at various titles. Too big, too long, too…boring. "Wish Goodbye Pupurun would get returned already. Man, I can't wait to read that," he thought. He turned the corner into the study section, usually deserted even during the day.  
  
Nida sat at a desk, absorbed in a six-inch-thick volume, taking notes on a small legal pad.  
  
Zell slouched into the chair next to Nida. "Busy as usual, I see."  
  
Nida jumped. "Damn, Zell, don't scare me like that." He closed the book on his hand lightly to keep his place. "What are you doing here this time of night?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question." Zell reclined in the hard wooden chair. "I like to train at night. Less students gettin' in my way. You?"  
  
Nida reopened the book and starting scanning the pages enthusiastically. "I'm researching the succession of sorceresses. I found this great book, Essays on the Sorceress Wars, and I'm analyzing the pattern of the reception of powers, and I think I'm making progress, beginning to figure out why Squall got them and so forth, did you know that not all sorceresses were bad? A bunch of them used their powers for good and stuff, I just want to help Squall, what do you think?"  
  
Zell had stopped paying attention when Nida had said "researching," but his findings were crystal-clear. "You need sleep, man. You're here, alone, doing a thankless job at one in the morning, for no reason. Heck, lucky I came along, or you mighta studied yourself stupid!" Zell chuckled at his own joke.  
  
"Lucky. Right." Nida turned back to his book.  
  
"Why are you doing this? Slaving over huge books with no real reason…"  
  
"I told you, I want to help Squall. Whatever I can do." Nida scribbled the skeleton of a chart on his notes.  
  
"You help in your own way, you know, piloting Garden and stuff. We need you." Zell smiled encouragingly.  
  
Nida shook his head. "It's not the same. I want to be more important to him, I want to beI want to be more than the 'Pilot Guy'." He turned towards Zell. "You know what I mean. Nobody knows me, nobody cares, so long as I don't crash the ship or whatever."  
  
"Nida…" Zell began, but he was interrupted.  
  
"Forget it, I didn't say anything, okay? Just forget it." Nida scribbled words on the chart, unsure of what he was writing, just glad to have stopped talking.  
  
It was then that Zell put Nida's words together. He was surprised at his own blindness – usually he noticed these things. "He does appreciate you, even if he doesn't show it so much…he's like that."  
  
Nida continued to scrawl nonsense in the chart. "It doesn't matter. He only sees her."  
  
"You're telling me."  
  
That got Nida's attention. "What?"  
  
"It doesn't matter." Zell shrugged. "You could do better anyway."  
  
Nida looked at Zell, then back at his papers. "So can you," he said softly.  
  
They sat in silence for a few minutes.  
  
Zell stood and stretched, yawning. "Well, I think I'd better be off to the dorms. Gettin' kinda late." He lightly put his hand on Nida's shoulder. "Hang in there now…might start to get interesting sooner or later."  
  
"Zell." Nida paused. "What happens now?"  
  
Zell smiled. "No way, I'm not giving it away. To see the ending, you have to play the game." With a final conspiratorial wink, Zell left Nida alone with his thoughts. 


End file.
